Blurb:

This paper will take the measure of the current state of Comparative Religion and the way that it has responded to a number of criticisms over the past thirty years. First, I will explore the work of Jonathan Z. Smith and his charge of imaginative construction; second, I examine the work of postcolonial scholars and their evaluation complicity in the process of colonization. Finally I will survey current developments in Anthropology, and the criticisms made by Mallory Nye of the isolation of Comparative Religion from the developments in other disciplines. In the conclusion I will evaluate these criticisms and make certain recommendations.